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Can i sell my home while there is a tenant and a lease agreement in place

Washougal, WA |March 25, 2011

we have put our home up for sale. the lease ends may 31st. the agent gives 24 hr. notice for a showing. we gave the tenant first right of refusal on property and notice the home was being put on the market. he wont let people in on some occasions.
we have a lousy property management team. what are our rights on selling this home?We own this home in Washington and live in Montana. The property management team is no help.

Your lease should allow for you to enter the home on proper notice. You can sell the home with a lease, the new owner woudl just take subject to the lease. Talk to a local attorney about options such as suing for breach of lease or eviction, which may or may not be allowable.

Be sure to have your management and/or agent give at least 24 hours' advance notice of your intent to enter to show the property. That is all that is required. Best practice would be to have that notice be in writing so you can show your due diligence to a third party, such as a court. If the lease is over at the end of May, also review your lease to determine what happens when the lease ends - do you have to give notice to end the tenancy, or does the tenancy become a month to month by default, or . . . ?

To answer your header, as the owner you can sell the property - subject to the lease agreement - and the tenant will simply have a new landlord. You need to advise the tenant where they should send the rent so there is no confusion.